That didn't leave a lot of room for veteran Damon Severson and while the team would have been interested in retaining Severson, who would be an unrestricted free agent when the free agency period begins later this month, had he been amenable to a short-term contract of a year or two, Severson, understandably so, at twenty-eight, was ready for his big cash-in contract and was looking for a long-term deal.
Those reasons made sense for both Severson and the Devils as New Jersey traded Severson to the Columbus Blue Jackets for a third-round pick in the upcoming draft that Columbus had obtained from Calgary, which is the 80th pick overall.
New Jersey didn't have a third-rounder, having traded their third-rounder last summer to Pittsburgh in the trade that brought John Marino to Newark, so the Devils managed to get something from a player that was almost certain to leave the team shortly.
Severson immediately signed an eight-year contract with Columbus worth fifty million over the course of the contract and the eighth year is the reason that the Devils were able to acquire something for Severson by working out a "sign and trade" with Columbus, who could only offer Severson seven years since they were not his original employer and by obtaining his rights before signing Severson as a free agent, the eighth year was able to be added to Severson's contract.
Severson was part of the Devils top defensive pairing at times in his New Jersey tenure but signing him long-term didn't make sense when you consider the Devils have Dougie Hamilton on a long-term contract, John Marino and Jonas Siegenthaler as cheaper options in the veteran defensemen role, and Luke Hughes and Simon Nemec on their way at some point next season.
Severson played well last season finishing with seven goals and twenty-six assists and a plus-nine but as All About the Jersey stated, Severson may have improved due to improved talent around him which enabled him to play fewer minutes last season.
Severson was a frustrating player for most of his career as he always seemed to be the player that committed a silly penalty or a turnover that appeared to be due to a lack of focus but he did show improvement in those areas last season and he's an above-average defenseman, it's simply that for the dollars that he was paid by Columbus, the Devils can cover his loss with Hughes and Nemec in the long term and perhaps a less-pricey veteran could be obtained for next season to cover any growing pains that the rookies could endure.
New Jersey will have five unrestricted free agents, as of this writing, but only four will need a decision to be made as veteran goaltender Jonathan Bernier, who played in only ten games due to a hip injury over his two-year contract.
The Devils will have three forwards as UFA's-Tomas Tatar, Erik Haula, and Myles Wood, and one defenseman in Ryan Graves.
New Jersey may have to hope that one of the forwards would take a lesser contract to stay and I think that Ryan Graves may be leaving because he may be out of the Devils price range to retain him considering the team's situation at this time.
New Jersey will have the following as restricted free agents, giving the team the ability to match any offer made to the player- forwards Timo Meier, Jesper Bratt, Jesper Boqvist, Yegor Sharangovich, Michael McLeod, and Nathan Bastian, defenseman Kevin Bahl, and goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood.
Considering the capital that was paid out to acquire Timo Meier and with Jesper Bratt as a home-grown talent that scored thirty-two goals at twenty-four last season, the Devils are certain to do what they must to retain both players and preferably to long-term contracts as both would be free to hit the unrestricted market following next season.
Keep in mind that the Devils will have to make qualifying offers to the restricted group and all of those players have arbitration rights with the exception of Kevin Bahl.
It will be interesting to see how many of these players return (and to varying degrees, I'd like to try to keep all or most of them at the right cost) and I think that the Devils are motivated to bring back each of the RFA's with the exception of Mackenzie Blackwood, who the team could be ready to part ways with.
New Jersey will not (unless they trade up) have a first-round choice in the upcoming draft due to trading it to San Jose in the Timo Meier trade.
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